Objective To investigate current status of moral courage and moral distress among nurses, and to explore the relationship between them, so as to provide references for taking corresponding measures to reduce nurses′ moral distress. Methods A total of 390 nurses were conveniently selected and asked to complete the Nurses′ Moral Courage Scale and Moral Distress Scale. Results The mean score of moral courage was 79.95±13.71, and the median score of moral distress was 24.00 (IQR 7.00-52.00).Moral courage was negatively related with moral distress （P＜0.05）.Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that education, department and moral cou-rage were factors that affected moral distress （all P＜0.05）. Conclusion Moral courage is an important factor affecting nurses′ moral distress.Nurses with high moral courage can effectively deal with moral distress.In order to correctly deal with moral distress, an ethical environment should be created and relevant training should be carried out to improve nurses′ moral courage.